Former CEO of Crypto Exchange Wex Dmitry Vasiliev Reportedly Detained in Croatia

Dmitry Vasiliev, co-owner and former chief govt of the now defunct Russian crypto trade Wex, has been arrested upon coming into Croatia, native media reported. The crypto entrepreneur is needed by Kazakhstan the place he’s accused of stealing cash from an investor.

Wex Executive Vasiliev Apprehended on the Airport in Zagreb

Belarus-born Dmitry Vasiliev, former CEO of Wex, as soon as the most important crypto buying and selling platform within the former-Soviet area, has been detained at Franjo Tudjman Airport within the Croatian capital on Wednesday, May 25, the Jutarnji List reported.

According to the every day, the authorities in Zagreb have acted on a pink warrant issued by Interpol on a request from Kazakhstan. Vasiliev, who resides within the Russian Federation, is needed within the Central Asian nation for defrauding an investor of $20,000.

Kazakhstan’s legislation enforcement has been in search of Vasiliev’s extradition for a while, however the crime he’s accused of there may be comparatively minor in comparison with different suspected offenses. Wex went bankrupt in 2018 and in accordance with estimates by a gaggle of customers, the overall losses exceed $400 million.

The information of Vasiliev’s detention in Croatia comes after in September final 12 months, the Polish press revealed he had been arrested on the Warsaw airport in mid-August and was awaiting extradition to Kazakhstan. In December, it was reported he had returned to Russia following his release.

The crypto businessman was additionally briefly apprehended in Italy some two years in the past, however Italian authorities let him go after a number of weeks, citing faults within the extradition request. He was in a position to return to St. Petersburg, Russia’s second-largest metropolis, the place he lives.

In March 2022, the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs introduced the arrest of a person accused of stealing monetary belongings from a cryptocurrency trade. While neither the individual nor the platform had been recognized, a report suggested this was Aleksey Bilyuchenko, one other Wex co-founder.

In 2017, Wex was established as successor of the notorious BTC-e trade which had closed down earlier that 12 months after the arrest in Greece of one in all its alleged operators, Alexander Vinnik. The U.S. accuses him of laundering as much as $9 billion by means of the buying and selling platform. Vinnik was extradited to France, the place he was sentenced to 5 years in jail in December 2020, and can also be needed by Russia.

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